The animal gastrointestinal tract contains trillions of microbes that play a critical role in their health and wellbeing. Poultry birds reared under intensive conditions are exposed to environmental stresses that disturb their gut microbiome and adversely impact on their health.

Research area. The focus of this work is to determine the contribution of specific early life management practices towards the development of resilience characteristics in pigs, and the relationship to pig welfare.

We now live in a world of rapidly changing environmental conditions where species will need to adapt or perish. While populations may evolve in response to environmental change, more rapid responses may happen through processes like phenotypic plasticity.